By Andrew Sanford | News | January 16, 2025 |
It’s crazy that any big film or television productions get made. The process leading up to production can be long, arduous, and a complete crapshoot. Even if you are at a point where studios are taking meetings with you, you have to pitch your ideas and hope they excite the execs (or fit the mighty algorithm). If your pitch is accepted, next is the scriptwriting, which will be laden with studio notes about what they expect from the project. These steps don’t even guarantee the project gets in front of cameras, but if it does, it’s a miracle. So, it’s wild to think that someone would abandon a show three-fourths through filming a second season, but that’s what just happened.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a show on Apple TV+ that definitely exists. I swear! I don’t mean to sound snarky, but I’m not even saying anything original. Jokes about Apple TV+ shows being in their second or third season without anyone knowing they exist are plentiful in the halls of the internet. I only heard about Dick Turpin this morning, and not for the most PR-friendly reason. The show starred Noel Fielding and was most of the way through filming its second season. The series went on Christmas break and, according to The Sun, Fielding “failed to come to work.”
Deadline reported that, due to Fielding leaving, the show could not be salvaged, and producer Big Talk Studios has sent cast and crew home. That’s unfortunate for a host of reasons. First and foremost, that’s a whole lot of people out of work! They may have also assumed that there would be more work after season two. I may not have heard of it, but the show has its fans, and the first season was well-received by critics. A third season wouldn’t be out of the question.
For now, we know that this falls on Fielding’s shoulders. But, in his defense, we do not know why (yet). Neither Apple, Big Talk, nor Fielding has given a reason for his leaving. There could be many reasons for him to make a serious decision like abandoning a show that he starred in (and was a writer on). It is also a big decision and something that was (hopefully) not made lightly. However, it could also be a harbinger of bad news. Splits between studios and stars during production are rarely without friction.
Hopefully, everyone involved in the show can land on their feet. Noel Fielding is still on one of the most popular shows in the world. He’ll be fine. The rest of the cast and crew may not be so lucky. That’s the first thing I thought when I heard this news, and that’s all I’ll be able to think about for a while.
Source: Deadline